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All About History Books
The Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.
An Excursion to the Lakes is in Georgian Books.
An Excursion to the Lakes in Westmoreland and Cumberland; With a Tour through part of the Northern Counties, In the Years 1773 and 1774. By W. Hutchinson. London: Printed for J. Wilkie, No. 71, St Paul's Church-yard, and W. Charnley, in Newcastle. 1776.
From thence we went to view a place by the inhabitants called Arthur's round Table, near to Emont Bridge, and about half a mile from Penrith.—This is said to be of great antiquity, but there is no tradition, when, by whom, or for what purpose it was made.—It is cut in a little plain near the river, of an exact circular figure, fave to the eastern and western sides an approach is left to the common level of the plain: —the trench by which it is formed, is near ten paces wide; the soil which has been thrown up on the outward side making a kind of theatre: — the approaches are ten paces wide, and the whole circle within the ditch is one hundred and sixty paces in circumference. —We were induced to believe this was an ancient tilting ground, where justings had been held: the approaches seemed to answer for the career, and the circle appears sufficient for the champions to shew their dexterity in the use of the lance and horse-manship; the whole circus being capable of receiving a thousand spectators on the outer side of the ditch.—It is not probable that this was an intrenchment or fortified camp, it being too small for such purposes; and more particularly it is overlooked by an adjoining rising ground, from whence it might be annoyed by missile weapons. Another reason for the same opinion, given by a learned author, is, that the ditch is on the inner side.
It is said of the order of Knights of the Round Table, that it was instituted by King Arthur, to the end there might be no question about precedency, and to teach heroic minds not to be ambitious of place, but merit.
At a little distance from the round table, and nearer to Emont Bridge, is another circular ditch [Little Round Table], with a very low rampart, but of much greater size, being seventy paces diameter, without any apertures or advances.—If we presume the other was intended for feats of chivalry, this may be supposed calculated for pedestrian exercises,
At about half a mile distance we viewed a place called Maybrough [Map]; — this is a hill, which arises gradually on every side about one hundred and forty paces from the level of the lands below, forming the lower section of a regular cone — The ascent is on every side grown with oaks and ashes, and seems to have been covered with wood for ages; though no very ancient trees remain standing, yet the reliques left by the ax evince it.
— The summit of the hill is fenced round, save only an opening to the east of twelve paces wide; — the fence is very singular, being composed of an immense quantity of loose pebble stones, which seem to have been gathered from the river by their quality, and the similarity there is between them and the gravel of the bed of the Yeoman. — No kind of mortar appears to have been used here, the stones layed uncemented, and in a heap, which at the foot is near twenty paces wide, rising to an edge, in height at this day about eight feet from the level of the interior plain. — Here and there time has scattered a few trees and brush-wood over the pebbles, but in other places they are loose and naked, both on the outside and inslde of the fence. — The space within is a fine plain of meadow ground, exactly circular, of 100 paces diameter; —inclining a little to the westward from the centre a large mass of unhewn stone is standing erect, placed with the smaller end in the earth, on which some little ash trees have taken their growth, by striking their roots into the natural fissures of the stone; — this stone is in circumference near its middle twenty-two feet and some inches, and in height eleven feet and upwards; it is a species of the free stone, and has been gathered from the surface, and not won in any quarry or bed of stone. — The inhabitants in the neighbourhood say, that within the memory of man two other stones of similar nature, and placed in a kind of angular figure with the stone now remaining, were to be seen there, but as they were hurtful to the ground, had been destroyed and removed.
— The traditional account given of this place is in no wise to be credited: "That it was a Roman theatre, where criminals had been exposed to wild beasts; and that those stones were placed for the refuge and respite of the combatant in his unhappy conflict."
— The name of Maybrough induced us to believe, that this had been a Britifh fortification, and that the name was a corruption of Maiden Burg, a title given to many fortresses which were esteemed impregnable, and which were boasted never to have known a conqueror; — but the large stone placed within the plain, and those said to have been defaced within the memory of man, confounded this conjecture, and prompted us to an idea, that the whole was a druidical monument, and the name of it Mayberie1, or Maleberge2. — The elevated plain, the aurrounding woods, and this atrange rude pillar, render it probable, that this was a temple of the druids, where, under the solemn shade of the consecrated grove, they had exercised their religious rites, and taught the multitude; and also held those convocations in which they determined the rights of the people, and administered public justice. — Perhaps when they were driven out of Mona, and fled before the Roman sword, they might fortify their sacred places, and gather their people into such strong holds, to refist the power which had avowed their extirpation.
Note 1. Antiquarians have frequently confounded Bury, for Berie; —the one implying the tomb of fome great or remarkable perfonage; the latter, Bene, being the name of a plain or vale, furrounded with groves and forefts, and held facred by the ancient Britons. Lord Coke.
Note 2. Maleserge, Mon's Placiti; — a hill where the people aflembled at a court like our affizes, which by the Scots and Irifh are called Parley Hills. Du Cange.
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Opposite to Maybrough, on the Cumberland side of the Emont1, is a large tumulus or kairn, which appears where the turf is broken, to be composed of pebbles; it is surrounded at the foot with a circle of large stones, of irregular forms, sizes, and distances, of the circumference of eighty paces in the whole2.
Note 1. A new stone bridge was built over the river Amot about 1425. For in April that year, Langley Bishop of Durham granted an indulgence of forty days to all persons truly repenting of their sins and confessing, who should contribute any of their goods given them by God to the building of it over the water of the Amot, in the parish of Penreth. Given at the Manor of Aukland April 5, 1425. E. Reg. Langley, p. 126.
Note 2. Kairns composed of stones only, are esteemed by some the burial places of traitors, notorious criminals, and men highly obnoxious to society; are supposed to be of the greatest antiquity, and derived from the customs of the Hebrews, of which we have many instances in holy writ.